Curve for cable railways



(No Model!) G. VOGEL. CURVE FOR CABLE RAILWAYS.

Patented Apr. 7, 1891.

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UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES VOGEL, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

CURVE FOR CABLE RAlLWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 450,118, dated April'7, 1891.

Application filed June 8,1887. Renewed April 7, 1890. Again renewedFebruary 18, 1891. Serial No.

381,814. (No model.)

Patented in England September 29. 1887, No. 13,194.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES VOG-EL, of the city and county of SanFrancisco, State of California, have invented Improvements in theConstruction of Horizontal Curves for Cable Railways, (for which LettersPatent of Great Britain, No. 13,194, dated September 29, 1887, weregranted me,) of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the construction of the subway frame-work atthe point where the carrying-pulleys are set to revolve in a horizontalplane, so as to guide the cable in a curvilinear direction, and to themeans of supporting and lubricating said, pulleys and their spindles. Itconsists in a combination with the skeleton frame of the conduit ofcertain metallic partition-walls to which the supports for thepulley-frames are attached,and a peculiar means for hanging thepulleyframes and lubricating the journals of the pulley-spindles, asbelow more fully set forth.

The better to understand the object of this invention it may be statedthat in practice it has been the more general custom to set thecurve-pulleys in a rigid frame in such a manner as that when one had tobe removed it was necessary to pry the cable away from its face to freeit from contact before it could be unloosed and withdrawn from itssetting, a similar difficultyoccurring when either a new pulley wasplaced in position or the boxes for the spindle required removing-amatter of considerable inconvenience when 'it is considered that thesechanges have to be made quite frequently. Again, a common form ofsetting for the pulleys at a curve includes a partition-wall between thepulleys of either masonry or wood, either being of necessity so thick asto largely increase the distance from center to center of the pulleysavery mate rial disadvantage. Finally, the system of lubricating thelower pulley-spindle bearings heretofore practiced required that thespout of the oiler had to be introduced to the bearing under thefast-revolving pulley or the pulley had to be stopped, so as to reachdown between the arms, and as the chambers in which the pulleys were setwere narrow and confined the operation of oiling the lower bearings wasnot alone inconvenient, but actually danger- -showing its method of ous.It is to remedy these several difficulties that the present invention isdesigned.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 is a plan of so much of the skeleton frame of .a subway at thecurve of the road as will serve to illustrate my invention. Fig. 2 is atransverse sectional elevation of the skeleton frame of a subway at thecurve point drawn on a larger scale than Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is adetacheddetail, partly a side elevation and partly a transverse section, of' aguide-pulley and frame, attachment to the frame of the subway. Fig. 4 isa vertical sectional elevation of the top and bottom bearings for thepulley-spindles with spindle and pulley-hub shown in relation thereto, apart being broken away.

In all the figures the same letters of reference are used to indicatethe same parts.

A A are skeleton yoke-frames, set equidistant apart throughout thesubway, these being connected by either wooden planks, masonry,concrete, or sheets of iron to complete the cable-conduit. In thepresent instance these yoke-fraines are shown to be formed of a seriesof angle-iron pieces riveted together; but any other suitable form maybe used. :Upon the inner side. of the curve where the'guide-pulleys Bset there will be fastened to the. uprights a a an iron webplate C;(Represented in Fig. l by a heavy black line.) Thisweb-plate extendsfrom top to bottom of the frame and covers the whole space between theuprights. It should be about three-eighths of an inch in thickness. Inproper position short pieces of channeliron forming the brackets D willbe riveted to each side of the web-plate back to back, so that the samerivets will fasten a pair in place, excepting that there will be but onebracket on the last web-plate at each end of the curve. Above and belowthese channelpieces D there may be fastened to the webplate angle-ironbars E E; but these do not form an essential feature of the invention,and may be dispensed with in other forms of yoke-frames.

B B are the guide-pulleys with peripheries of greater diameter at thelower edge to hold the cable from dropping off. These pulleys have steelspindles G fastened in theirhnbs, and steel washers II should be placedbe tween the hub and the upper and lower bearlngs.

I is the upper and I the lower member of the pulley-frame, simply fiatbars, as shown. J J are the end membersmade of short'pieces ofchannel-iron, solidly riveted to the bottom bars I but they should beboltedtothe up; per bar I, because this bar must be detached every timethe pulley is removed and replaced. Thesepulley-frames are insertedbetween the opposing brackets in each compartment between the series ofweb-plates, and a single bolt K will pass through the ends of each frameand the supporting-brackets, as shown.

L is an upper bearing for apulley-spindle. (Clearly shown in Fig. 4.) Itis simply an or dinary solid babbilted box with an oil-cell lsurrounding it, communicating with-thespins dle by a drilled hole 1. It.will extendatrifle above the top of the spindle,'so as to leavea recessZ, to hold a small quantity of oil-,which will finally pass through thehole in ,the-spin-, dle to the lower bearing 11'. Thebot-toms of theupper bearings rest upon, thewashers in-v terposed between them and theupper face of the hub of the pulley and theyare firmly bolted to thebars l of the pulley-frames; The lower bearing L? is substantiallysimilar to the upper bearing except that it-has a closed bottom, asshown. v

The spindles G have holes bored entirely through their centers, andahole g should be provided to connect thelubricating-channel with thesurface of the washers. l

M is the grip.

N is the cable. 1

O is the guide-rail to keep the: grip-shank in the center of the slot.

r The operation of the several parts is as fole lows: The narrowness ofthe division-walls or web-plates 0 gives an opportunity for setting thepulleys closer together, so that a (zombie nation of thetangentiallinesdrawn at right angles with the radial lines of thecurve'which pass through the centers of the pulleys, and whichtangential lines touch the peripheries of the pulleys, will form anearer approxima+ tion to the true curve than if these tangents weredrawn touching the faces of pulleys set farther part. This is anim'portantmatter, for the closer the approximation the cable makes inpassing over the guide-pulleys to the curve.

the curve of the slot the less will be the angularities in the cable atthis point, and in proportion will there be less strain and wear andtear on both cable and grip. The introduction of these web-plates givesadditional rigidity and strength to the entire frame of All the partsbeing bound and tied together, a perfect alignment is preserved betweenthem and no opportunity is presented for that twisting and warping andshrinking away of one part from another, which is an attendant defect ofsimilar structures composed of parts either entirely'disconnected orotherwise only imperfectly joined together. The method'ofhanging thepulleys in an independent frame and bolting these by a single bolt ateach end to their supports permits each. frame to be swung back oneither bolt asa-pivot, the other being-withdrawn, so asgreatly tofacilitate the operation of chang- -ing pulleys or the bearings whenworn or oth- 'ei'wise rendered unserviceable. What I claim as myinvention, and desire to secure'by Letters Patent, is-

1. In cable railways, the means for supporting the horizontalcable-guiding pulleys fat curves in the road, consisting, essentially,of a series of thin metal plates fastened to the yoke-frames inavertical position and forming together a series of compartments(conformable. to the curve) to contain the cahie-guiding pulleys, aseries of pulley-frames, as; described, adapted to receive theguidepulleys and to be bolted to the said vertical plates, and aseriesof guide-pulleys for the cable suitably heldand revolved within saidframes, substantially as described.

2. In cable railways, the .means for supporting the horizontalguide-pulley at curves in the road, consisting, essentially, of asuitable frame or support Within or upon which the pulley is'mounted andrevolved, and suitable ineans for pivoting said support to the framingof the subway at opposite ends, so as to rigidly secure both frame andpulley in place when'in operation, whilethey may be swung "back oneither pivot by withdrawing the other to release the pulley from contactwith the cable when necessary, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

CHARLES VOGEL. Witnesses:

GEO. PARDY,

P. DRUM.

